SHERMAN, TEXAS—Austin College will host the 2015 Lowe Lectures on Tuesday, March 24, featuring Dr. Scott Whiteford, a University of Arizona professor extensively involved in research on violence on the U.S.-Mexican border and on the jurisdictional disputes between Mexico and the United States over water rights in the Colorado River Basin.
His first lecture, “Power and Contested Priorities: The Multiple Faces of Immigration,” will begin at 11 a.m. in Wright Campus Center, Room 231. After a short break, his second lecture, “Water Insecurity: Reflections on Contested Water,” will follow in the same location at Noon. Participants may bring their lunch to the Noon lecture. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
“Dr. Whiteford is one of the leading and most highly regarded experts on water issues and the political ecology of water in Mexico, Southwestern United States, and other areas of Latin America,” said Terry Hoops, Austin College associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of this year’s lecture. “He also is one of the most important voices in American anthropology, and a graduate student award within the American Anthropology Association bears his name.”
Research professor of Latin American studies and former director of Latin American studies at the University of Arizona, Whiteford has published extensively on water issues, on Mexico, and on the U.S.-Mexico border, including a book he co-edited this year on the anthropology and political ecology of water, published by the School of American Research. His research in Latin America integrates economic development, environmentalism, social movements and power, political ecology, and migration. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Texas.
Whiteford, an expert in interdisciplinary and inter-institutional and international research, currently is directing an extensive research project on violence on the U.S.-Mexican border. Throughout his career, he has worked collaboratively with colleagues, especially Latin American colleagues and students, and has received teaching and mentor awards. He has held fellowships and research awards from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The professor’s visit to Austin College is sponsored by the College’s Lowe Lecture Series, the Environmental Studies program, the Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies, Latin American and Iberian Studies, the Sociology and Anthropology Department, and the Cullen Foundation.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.